


The Six Times Richie Tozier Told The Losers Club He Was In Love With Eddie Kaspbrak

by byronictrash



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: ADHD person writting ADHD character, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Bisexual Richie Tozier, Character Study, Falsettos References, M/M, Richie Tozier Has ADHD, Slice of Life, movieverse, yeah im selfprojecting but i do have a point dont @ me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-11-22 16:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20877335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byronictrash/pseuds/byronictrash
Summary: The title is pretty long but I guess it's self explanatory enough, right?





	1. First

I.

The first one was Stan, of course it was him. Out all of his friends, Stanley Uris was the one Richie had known for the longest time, practically his whole life. Stan was his first friend and until knowing Bill, Eddie and later Bev, Ben and Mike, his only one.

Richie remembered like it was yesterday the day he met Stanley, they were in kindergarten, probably not more than six years old and Richie was completely intrigued with why that boy were always wearing a funny little hat on the top of his head so he just approached the boy one day during lunch and asked. Surprisingly, Stan was pretty patient and explained the “funny little hat” was called kippah and he wears it because he’s Jewish. In the moment Richie hear the word with J, his face lit up with another question.

“Wait, is it true that Jewish people don’t eat bacon?”

Stan nodded.

“Woah, how can you not eat bacon? It’s amazing!”

“Just not putting in my mouth, chewing, or swallowing, you idiot.” He responded, but his tone was playful so much so that Stan started to laugh, soon followed by Richie. At this point, both of them could feel that they would be friends for a whole life.

However now they were no longer kids, actually they were fifteen and instead of being in kindergarten they were in sophomore year - which meant that they were NOT freshmans anymore, thank you very much!

Anyway, at this exact moment Richie was having dinner at the Uris’s house. It wasn’t an unusual scene, in fact it was pretty common for Richie Tozier to have dinner at Stan’s on the Fridays that the Losers had nothing planned and it was great, for real! He really liked to talk to Stan’s dad - he treated him like an adult - and Stan’s mom was always laughing of his voices and jokes. The Uris enjoyed Richie’s presence as well, even though they were used having a quieter kid around, Donald found him pretty smart and Andrea found him hilarious. Yeah, it was a nice dynamic.

“Hey Miss. Uris, could you pass me the mashed potatoes please?” Richie asked.

“Sure sweetheart.” Andrea smiled, handing him the dish. “So boys, what are the Winter Ball plans? Richie, did you ask some girl to go with you?”

“As if any girl would accept.” Stan muttered.

“At least I don’t have your awful face Staniel.” He responded before taking a big bite of puree.

“Oh now I understand why you wear those big glasses,to save the world from your horrendous face.” Stan laughed.

“Yeah, but this big glasses can see pretty clear that you’re way uglier than me.”

“Boys, save the fighting for after dinner.” Said Donald, disguising a laugh.

“Anyway, I already finished.” Stan said setting the cutlery parallel to the plate.

“Me too.” Richie said and then shove the rest of the broccoli into his mouth.

Stanley laughed to the other, shaking his head. “Dad, mom, excuse us please?”

Mr Uris nodded and the boys followed to Stan’s bedroom to watch the movie Stan rented for the weekend. However, Richie’s head was anywhere but there.

“Look, I rented Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands and Ghostbusters 2, what gonna be?” Stan asked while he turned the VHS player on.

“I already saw Ghostbusters at Aladdin last year with Bill and Mermaids have Winona Ryder.” The other responded absently.

“Edward Scissorhands has Winona too but I’ll go with you in Mermaids because of Cher.”

The film started playing but again Richie wasn’t paying attention at all, Stan noticed and soon paused the movie, starting to stare at him.

“WHAT THE FUCK STANIEL??? I was watching it!” Richie protested.

“No you were not.” He said crossing arms. “C’mon, don’t bullshit me, what’s in your mind?”

At this very moment Richie found himself completely off guard. He opened his mouth, trying to find the words, but Stan continued first.

“You know, I've noticed that in the last two weeks you have been super distracted, thoughtful and stuff.”

“I’m always distracted, Stan.”

“Yeah, but recently you’re distracted in a different way, like you were worried about something really bad.” Stanley took a pause and looked right into Richie’s eyes, in the way he used to do when he said something serious. “Look, we’ve been friends for almost ten years, if something is bothering you, you know you can talk to me.”

Richie took a deep breath and ran his fingers nervously through his hair. What he was about to say could probably change their friendship for fuckin’ ever, still Richie trusted Stan with his whole life.

“I’m kind of into someone.” He started. “And liking this person is scaring the shit out of me, so when your mom brought the Winter Ball up I panicked somehow.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Stan interrupted smiling. “This is all because of a girl?”

Richie took another deep breath, longer than the last one. “Stanley, I never said it was a girl.”

Stan's face couldn't be read with anything but shock, not judgement nor disgust, only shock. That was good, Richie thought. However, he didn’t say a single word after.

“C’mon, Stan please say something, anything or I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Stanley blinked twice e started. “Uh okay, I’m a little shocked, not surprised at all though, I should have suspected that you were gay with all those thirsty comments about Ivan Drago’s abs when we watched Rocky IV at Ben’s house.”

“Fuck off.” Richie protested laughing with the memory. “Still, I don’t even know if I’m really gay, I mean the same way I think Drago’s hot I think Elvira’s hot.”

“There must be a name for people like this” The boy reflected. “Anyway, tell me more about this mysterious boy you’re in love with, do I know him?”

“Oh, you can bet that you know him, you super duper know him.” Richie laughed nervously.

“I mean, it’s not like he’s from the Loser’s Club, right?” Stan snorted.

Richie just stared at him in complete silence.

“Rich, you’re not crushing on me, are you?”

“GROSS, STANLEY!!” Richie exclaimed in complete exasperation. “You’re like a brother to me, for God's sake!! A neat, grumpy, bird-obsessed brother who never ate a fucking shrimp taco but still a brother, I would never see you that way.”

“So who’s the mysterious-not-so-mysterious boy?”

Richie swallow dry before saying it. “It’s Eds.”

Different from when he was told his best friend liked boys five minutes ago, Stan wasn’t shocked at all, actually his face could tell that he was linking infos.

“Wow.” He started to laugh. “Now that you said it makes perfect sense, you’ve been flirting with Eddie since forever and I always thought you were kidding, but you actually had a fucking crush on him.”

“Oh c’mon Stan.” Richie grunted. “Now you will mock me, really?”

“Obviously, you’re my best friend, what did you expect me to do?”

Even though Stan asked in a totally stripped down way, the moment the words came out of his mouth he realised what Richie actually expected him to do. Just thinking about his best friend thinking about the mere possibility of being rejected by him almost made him throw up the dinner.

“Richard Tozier, I need you to pay attention to what I’m going to say right now, okay?” The other just nodded. “Nothing, I mean literally nothing will change between us, you’re my best friend and I love you, nod one more time if you understood.”

Richie nodded again smiling, then started crying AND laughing.

“What the fuck Rich, why’re crying?”

“I don’t know either.” Richie laughed.

Stan started laughing too. “C’mon, let’s finish the movie, I can’t wait to see when Cher will become a mermaid.”

“Spoiler alert: she won’t, it’s just the name of the movie.”

“WHAT???” Stan exclaimed.

“Just what you just heard, Bev spoiled me last month.”

“So what’s the whole point of this?”

“Watching a nice film about mommy issues, me coming out of the closet totally out of nowhere and you being horny for Cher you disgusting thirsty teenager.” He smiled.

“Fuck off, you find Cher hot too.” Stan grunted.

“Yeah, I do.” Richie agreed thoughtful.

Both boys stared at each other for a second then burst out laughing. They were fine, they were alright, everything will be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome hotties, nerds, and tools!!  
well basically i'm wrote this in the middle of a test week because of two reasons: 1) I watched chapter 2 and got obsessed with reddie ALL OVER AGAIN and 2) i'm also rereading the book and BRUH.... andy muschietti simply ignored most of my favorite friendship dynamics and mY BOY MIKE WAS SO ROBBED!!!!  
aaaaanyway, hope you folks enjoy the reading :D


	2. Second

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some brief notes about hyperfixation  
Essentially it’s being completely immersed in something — whether it be a video game, movie/TV fandom culture or a hobby like crocheting. While typically associated with ADHD and autism, people with mental illness may also experience hyperfixation.  
I projected a lot how my way of hyperfixating work so it's not a rule to every ADHD person, kay?

III.

In his sixteen years on Earth, Richie Tozier always hated to read, which was kind of ironic considering his grades in English and Drama. He just couldn’t see the same fun in it as Ben and Mike. For him it was just staring at a piece of paper, but it changed drastically after the day he watched The Silence of The Lambs.

It wasn’t new to anyone Richie's immense interest in the horror genre, from comic books to movies but with Silence of the Lambs he got literally obsessed. The concept of FBI agent using a psychopathic cannibal to catch another serial killer was just amazing and now Richie couldn’t think about anything else. For almost two months, all he could talk about was how The Silence of the Lambs was the best movie ever made and if it won’t win the Best Picture Oscar in the next year he could kill someone.

Usually when he really liked a movie he would watch it twice but this time was totally different since in just one month he watched the movie at the Aladdin's eight fucking times because ‘guys, this plot has so much potential, there has to be a sequel, there has to be a prequel, there has to be a whole Hannibalverse!”

So when Mike told him that The Silence of the Lambs was based on a novel and the book was available in Derry's library, Richie almost cried with joy. The boy didn’t even wait for the weekend, running to the library by the time he heard the bell marking the end of class.

When he got there, Mike's shift as library assistant had already started. The moment he saw Richie, waved him to come closer.

“Man, I was expecting to see you here on Friday or Saturday, not on Wednesday.” Mike whispered smiling.

“Mike, you’re not understanding, I need to compare the nuances from the book to the movi-” He tried to answer but was interrupted by a choir of people shushing him.

He continued, whispering this time. “Anyway, I really need this book, Mikey.”

“Wait a sec, I’m gonna get it to you, okay?” Mike said following the sea of bookshelves and coming back after some minutes with the hardcover book in hands. “Here it is.”

Richie just smiled with excitement.

“Did you brought your library card?” Mike asked suspicious.

“Bold of you to assume I still have my library card, Michael the Bichael.” He grinned. “I’m with Bill’s though, is that a problem?”

Mike smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Actually is…” He looked around to see if Carole was near. “But I'll let it pass, if you tell it to anyone, I’m a dead man and if I’m a dead man, you’re a dead man.”

“Awn Mikey, you’re simply the best!”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Tozier.”

***

For someone who had practically zero reading habit, Richie read the book considerably fast - actually even for a bookworm like Ben he was reading pretty quick - finishing it in less than a week, but to get such a result read the goddamn book in every place he went.

When Richie was reading, he felt like he was completely disconnected from the world. He could read in the cafeteria during lunch without getting distracted by the other students eating and talking. He could read at the quarry without getting distracted by the water splashes that Ben and Bill made when they bet who would swim faster to the other side and he could stay up all night reading, only noticing when the sun starts to rise.

Eventually weekend came, more specifically Saturday afternoon, all the Losers where chilling at the Barrens and there was Richie with that hell of book again.

“But what if all the dinosaur bones ever found or at least a part of it were actually dragon bones?” Beverly started.

“No way the dragon t-t-thing is possible.” Bill disagreed. “You know what’s real? Aliens! If G-God made land animals and water animals, he p-p-probably made space animals too.”

“What about mermaids? I mean, more than 95% of the sea is unknown to the humans, right?” Ben questioned shyly, unsure if he really wanted to get into that meaningless debate.

Bev stated and Bill denied, both in unison.

“Dragons, aliens, mermaids… Guys, let’s talk about the real stuff: the man never landed on the moon.” Mike stated.

“Elaborate that.” Bill asked with interest.

“It’s so obvious, look at those pictures Bill, they’re completely forged.”

Eddie muffed a laugh. “Okay, now you’re sounding just like Rich.”

“Unlike all of you, Richie is a woke boy, right Tozier?” He asked the other but Richie was too concentrated to listen. “Richie?”

“Don’t even try, Mike, he’s totally invested in this stupid little book.” Stan scoffed.

“It’s not stupid, it’s fucking great.” Richie stated, saying his first words of the last two hours.

“Whatever, I bet it’s not good enough for you reread it.”

“Yeah man, why don't you just read the prequel?” Mike questioned.

Hearing this, Richie's face lit up in total surprise. “WAIT A FUCKING SECOND, The Silence of the Lambs has a goddamn prequel and you didn’t tell me?”

“I told you the day before yesterday but you weren’t paying attention” Mike sighed.

“Do we have it in the library?” He asked.

Mike nodded.

“Holy shit we have to go there NOW.” Richie exclaimed with excitement.

“Isn’t it closed by now?” Ben asked confused.

“Yeah but Mikey has the keys so we can go now.” He begged looking to his friend with big puppy eyes.

“I don’t know, Rich…”

“Please please please please pleeeeease.”

“Ugh okay but it has to be fast and if you tell this to someone I'll kill you.”

***

_ This place looks a lot different without anyone_, Richie thought while Mike turned on the lights. Even though they didn’t talk there, when empty there wasn’t any sound of footsteps and pages being turned. 

“You know, I just don’t get it why you’re so obsessed with this Hannibal stuff.” chuckled Mike.

“Bro, it’s simply awesome, a fucking FBI agent using a cannibalisthic serial killer to catch another serial killer, what more could I want?”

“Reading another book maybe.” Mike suggested.

“Nah, reading is boring, just can’t catch my attention, once I had to read The Odyssey for the History Class and all I could think was how everything would be solved if the man asked for the fucking direction.”

“Or maybe reading is cool and you didn’t like this book in particular you dumbass.” He said with a smile.

“Wrong answer Bike, I tried The Great Gatsby too and I have to admit he looked more like an averaged Gatsby to me, huh?”

Mike sighed in disbelief. “I’m gonna get your goddamn cannibal book.” And then he followed to the fiction section.

As soon as he lost sight of Mike, Richie began to explore the ambience, even if he didn’t go there with a high frequence, it was undeniable that Derry’s Library was a beautiful building. Right next to the armchairs that were normally occupied by the elderly, Richie saw a large bookcase with newspapers and magazines from all over the country.

“Hey Mike, what’s is this Anything That Moves?” Richie shouted in no specific direction taking a magazine in hands.

“It’s a Californian LGBT magazine, there are some editions in here.” Mike responded from the sea of books where Richie couldn’t see him.

“It looks like a comic, the cover is all colorful and stuff.” He chuckled as he started to leaf through its pages. 

However, it wasn't the magazine cover that made Richie Tozier most shocked.

_ ‘We are tired of being analyzed, defined and represented by people other than ourselves, or worse yet, not considered at all. We are frustrated by the imposed isolation and invisibility that comes from being told or expected to choose either a homosexual or heterosexual identity. _

_ Bisexuality is a whole, fluid identity. Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or duogamous in nature: that we have "two" sides or that we must be involved simultaneously with both genders to be fulfilled human beings. In fact, don’t assume that there are only two genders.’ _

“Here’s your book, Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, are you gonna use Bill’s card again or… Christ, why that face, did someone die?”

Richie was standing there, for almost four minutes, staring at the same page with the manifesto but the moment he heard Mike's voice he looked up and eyed his friend.

“I found out, Mikey.” A large grin spread across his face. “I finally found out.”

“What the hell you found out, Tozier? Oil? Please don't tell me you were digging holes on the carpet.”

“I finally found out what I am god dammit, Bichael!” He shaked his friend’s shoulders in enthusiasm.

“Yeah?” Mike asked confused.

“I’m bi, Mike, I’m a fucking bisexual, look.” Richie handed the magazine to the other. “Now everything make so fucking sense, I’m not half gay, half straight, I’m not disgusting or indiscreet, I’m actually something.” Then Richie burst out laughing.

Mike asked curious after all. “What’s so funny?”

“Just the good feeling of feeling invincible.” Said Richie after taking a deep breath and sitting on one of those armchairs.

“That’s good.” Mike smiled and sat by Richie’s side . “Man, I didn’t even know you were into guys, you just talked about girls with me.”

“I guess that when I shouted ‘RICHARD GERE IS SUCH A SNACK’ it wasn’t my straightest move but I'll give you a discount because you had a flu.”

Mike just laughed “Fine, asshole.”

“By the way, there's one more thing that I want to tell you, my dearest conspiracy theory pal.” Even if Richie wanted (and he didn’t) he couldn’t stop smiling, but now his smile got a little sadder. “Not only I do like boys too, but I also have a specific boy.”

“Do you expect us to play hangman until I found out? Cause you’re sounding like a fucking sphinx, man.”

“No, no, I’ll let you win.” He rolled his eyes. “Eddie Fuckin’ Kaspbrak.”

The boy started thinking. “So why don't you just ask him out already?”

“Are you nuts? Eddie is straight, dumbass!” Richie exclaimed in exasperation.

“Oh c’mon Richard, not even you believe in this.”

“What is it now, Mike? Kinsey Scale or other conspiracy theory?” He rolled his eyes again.

“Observation data only, not only I’ve never saw Eddie with a girl but also every opportunity of being near to you he is.” Mike just chucked. “Duh, Tozier, you’re slower than I thought.”

Richie stared at the other boy for a few seconds until he spoke again. “Okay, some points were made but I’m totally not buying your bullshit. Bro, you believe non ironically that the government killed JFK.”

“Because it did! We already talked and agreed about it.” Mike groaned.

“No, we agreed that they killed Marilyn Monroe, the JFK part was craziness of you.”

Mike stretched and got up. “Anyway, we have to go back to Barrens or the guys will think we died.”

“I’ll die of laziness.” Said Richie thinking about the distance between the library and the Barrens.

“Not before the glorious wedding of Mr and Mr Tozier-Kaspbrak.” Mike laughed.

“Shut up…” Richie moaned with suffering.


	3. Third

III.

Even though Richie was ridiculously in love with Eddie, Bev was definitely his soulmate. Since the day they met, he knew Beverly Marsh was the coolest girl in the world. She enjoyed the same movies as him, smoked the same cigarette brand as him, and especially had the exact same good taste in music as him, which meant they were both completely addicted to Queen. So it was no surprise that when they received the news of Freddie Mercury’s death they were completely devastated.

Everything in that day started so normal, in the morning the whole gang went to school and after that Ben helped Richie to study for his geometry test. Everything was absolutely ordinary until Richie got the call from Bev in the evening.

“Hey Beverage Marsh!”

“Richie, are you at home?” Her voice was desperate, with a sob in the back.

“Uh yeah, in my bedroom, reading X-men, are you okay?" He asked concerned.

"Turn on the TV on NBC now."

"Bev, did something happen?"

"Just… Do it, okay?"

Richie hummed and went down the stairs quickly, his parents were in the living room watching the news when he got there.

“Hey Darling, the dinner is not ready yet.” Maggie Tozier said.

“I know, I know… are you guys watching NBC?” He asked thoughtful.

“Sure son, why? You never cared much for the news” Wentworth asked. “Is everything alright, Rich?”

“Dunno… Did it had any unusual new? Bev called me and told me to turn on the NBC news.”

“I guess it’s everything norm-OH!! Son, minutes before you went downstairs there was something… Freddie Mercury died.”

“WHAT??” Richie yelled.

“I know Honey, he was such a talented artist and I know how much you like Queen.” Maggie lamented, putting a hand on her son’s shoulder.

“No, no, no, no, no, this isn’t happening.” Before Richie even realise, the tears were running through his face.

“If you wanna talk, Richard…” Mr. Tozier started.

He started wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I’ll be okay, I am… I’m going to Bev’s house.”

Actually he didn’t go to Beverly’s house because he knew she wouldn’t be there. Again, they were soulmates and somehow he just knew that Bev would be in the Clubhouse. By the moment he started to climb down the stairs, Richie could feel her eyes on him.

“Hey, I brought the cigarettes.” He said with a weak smile.

“I brought the vodka.”

“Damn Bev, you’re simply the best, just marry me already.” He sat by her side, taking a huge sup of the beverage, grimacing and then falling in a long silence. That was the other thing in their friendship that Richie found fucking awesome, how he could just stay in complete silence in Beverly’s company and it was never weird, it just feel comfortable, welcoming. So they stayed right this way, drinking and smoking, eventually leaving some tears with the certainty that they wouldn’t be judged by the other.

“You know, it was totally out of the blue.” Richie started. “I mean, _ yesterday _he was alright.”

“Rich, he stated that he had the virus _ the day before yesterday _and it isn’t the best baggage to have.” She took a small pause to light another cigarette. “Look at our president, George Fuckin’ Bush doesn’t do anything!”

“One AIDS death every 8 minute, we die Bush does nothing.” He quoted the ACT UP banner looking to his own feet. “I guess eventually it’s gonna be me.”

“What?” Beverly turned to him quickly and with a confused face.

Oh shit.

As if it wasn’t enough to be Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier, he also had to be Richie ‘Bigmouth’ Tozier because holy christ, why couldn’t he just shut up for once? He looks to Bev’s face and found her staring at him in silence, waiting for an answer, then started to consider what to say next.

He could blame it on the alcohol? Nope, drinking doesn’t make you queer - at most it makes you more sincere - besides that Beverly knew exactly how Richie was when he was drunk. He could say it was just a way of speaking since their critics about the government wasn’t recent and Richie even had the conspiracy theory that the Gulf War would somehow escalate to a Vietnam-war-part-2 and eventually all men would be summoned. However, even if this was a merely decent excuse, lying to Bev wouldn’t feel right. It was like there was a small voice in the back of his head telling him to said it already because after all Beverly was his soulmate, right?

“Richie, what do you mean with ‘eventually it’s gonna be me’?” She repeats, with concerned eyes.

He took a deep breath and cleaned his throat. “I’m bi, Bev.”

The girl just pull another gulp of the minty Lucky Strike she was smoking and say calmly “Okay, but I still didn’t get the whole you dying part.”

“I’m queer and again Bev, one AIDS death eve- wait a second, I just came out to you and you didn’t even blink??”

“C’mon Tozier, you comment with me all the guys you think are hot since we were twelve, only if I was an idiot I would think you're straight.” Bev mocked punching his shoulder.

Now Richie was the one blinking. “An I that obvious?”

“Yeah, but anyway Richie you don’t have AIDS. Secondly, as far as I know you’re not having sex with anyone and even if you were you would be wearing protection, am I right Richard?” She made a point of punctuating the end of the speech with an almost maternal tone.

“Sure mommy.” He responded making the Spoiled Child voice, a special voice used mainly to irritate Stan. Then, the comfort silence took place again followed by some laughs. Even if soulmates aren’t real, Beverly is definitely his one.

“Uh Bev, there’re another thing I want to tell you.” Richie moved uncomfortably on his place. “I’m crushing someone.”

“Hope it’s not Ben or we’ll have to solve it in a pistol duel.” She jokes, messing the other one’s hair.

“Nah, track and field nerd is more like your type.” He messes her hair back. “But asthmatic with mommy issues in other hand is totally my type though .”

At that moment Beverly's face turned into a huge excitement and amusement “Wait… So that means that you are one of those pigtail pulling kind of guys? How cliché!!”

“No, I’m not!” Richie huffed.

“Dude, you've been pinning on Eddie since I know you, it’s cute.”

“Fuck off.” He buried his face between his hands, what a torture.

“But you know, you would make a nice couple.” She adds on.

“I don’t even know if Eddie is into guys.” he mourns.

“Well, I never saw him with a girl or talking about girls so…” She smiled arching her eyebrows.

Richie stopped for a second and pondered. Okay it was true, Eddie never talked about any girl, at least not in front of him, even though his lack of attention was a problem, he wouldn’t miss a thing like this.

“Okay, maybe you have a point, but I’m too sad and drunk and tired to think about it.” He said getting up and going towards the hammock. “It’s fucking late, I think I’ll just sleep here.”

“How funny, I was thinking of the same thing so get to the side.” She said laying beside him. It took a little time to adjust until they found a comfortable position, and in the end Bev was cuddling him by the back while making small circles on his shoulders.

Once again, more silence. Beverly could tell Richie was thinking by the tension on his shoulders, also even she wasn’t seeing his face, she knew he would be doing an amount of facial expressions.

“Shit, I really gonna miss Freddie.” Richie murmured to the dark.

“Me too...”

“It’s not fair! He was so young, he was so…” And then before he could think, Richie burst into tears. Bev's embrace suddenly got stronger, making him smile thinking it was exactly what he needed, as if she had read his mind.

And in that way they both fell asleep. Even though it wasn't the best of the days they knew that better days would come and eventually everything will be alright.


	4. IV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I would like to apologize for the wait to update this chapter. College has been crazy and I'm in the middle of finals so it's kind of busy.  
Also, would like to thank Milla for the beta-reading and reviewing, love ya!!

It was no secret that when Richie met Ben he didn’t like him very much. It was a very childish thing, right when Ben met the rest of the gang, and Richie just got jealous of how everyone was paying attention to the new kid, attention that previously was given to him. C’mon, what is so interesting about building a stupid dam? His voices were way cooler than that!

However, this pet peeve didn’t last long because in that same year Richie almost had to take summer math classes. For some reason the Pythagorean theorem just wouldn't get into his head and if he didn't get at least a C+ in the last test he would have to spend all summer studying all over again to do another test that if he failed, he would do the eighth grade again. He even considered asking Stanley for help because after all Stan was great at math, especially algebra, but he had zero didactic skills so Beverly suggested that he ask Ben for help, as he was not only great at math but also an excellent teacher. At first Richie thought Bev was just being dramatic because of her crush on Ben but when he saw how patient the boy was to explain even the most frivolous things, Richie realised that Beverly hadn't been exaggerating at all.

These classes not only got him a B- in the test, which was more than enough to pass the grade, but also made him and Ben much closer, making Richie see that he was such an idiot with the other boy. So from that time on, he decided to stop being an asshole with him and in fact let Ben be his friend.

But it all happened a few years ago. Now they were no longer studying for those 1989 maths finals, the year was 1992 and Richie’s problem was geometry. Due to the amazing results of their classes, Richie continued to take them through the years whenever the tests approached, and that’s why in this very moment he’s in Ben’s room, staring at the same exercise page for over 5 minutes.

“Come on, Rich, this one is not even hard, you just did another one that was way harder.” Ben encouraged him.

“I know, I know, I was just thinking… did you know that the human head weighs 11 pounds.” Richie said while he fidgted with a pencil.

“No, I didn’t and it won't be in your test next week.” Ben noted.

“Yeah, but think about it Benny, 11 pounds is a lot of weight, almost the weight of a baby golden retriever, and we carry it over our own necks every day! Isn’t it wonderful?” Richie exclaimed , letting the pencil fall on the floor.

Ben took the pencil and handed it to Richie again. “Sure it is, still, creepy anatomy facts won’t be in the math test.”

Richie sighed. “Fine.”

He stayed in silence for some moments, looking to the paper then finally saying. “This must be a prank.”

“How the hell can a geometry exercise be a prank, Tozier?” Ben looked at him, a little confused.

“This is an exercise in calculating the area, right?”

Ben nodded.

“So how the fuck am I supposed to calculate the area of this stuff?”

“Calm down, it’s because we have two polygons here.” The boy took a better look at the item, smiling fondly after understanding what was the exact doubt of the other. “Look, in this part you have a rectangle, how do we find the area of a rectangle?”

“ Multiply the length by the width.” Said Richie almost automatically.

“Very good, and here you have a triangle, that you’ll find the area by…”

“Multiply the base by the height, and then divide by 2” He completed.

“Very good.”

“And then I’ll just have to add the area of the rectangle and the triangle to have the area of this stuff here.” Richie concluded.

“Perfect!” Ben exclaimed. 

“Damn, this is easy peasy, Haystack!” Richie laughed while doing the task. He didn’t take more than five minutes to finish it. “Tah-dah!”

Ben smiled with amusement. “I told you that you could do it.”

“Thanks to you by the way.” He pointed out. “My attention span is really being a bitch today so thanks, bro.”

“It’s nothing, Richie, we’re friends and I feel happy to help you out.”

“Friends?? C’mon Benny and the Jets, you’re dating my soulmate so you’re practically my brother in law.” Richie scoffed.

Ben just laughed.

“I’m serious, bro” Richie continued. “We’re such a dynamic duo, like some Eddie Valiant and Roger Rabbit but from Maine!”

“Like who and who?” Ben asked in confusion.

Richie stared at the other in shock. “Eddie Valiant and Roger Rabbit, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit!”

Ben just shaked his head “Never heard about it.”

“Like never never?”

“Never never.”

“Jesus, Haystack, what a lack of culture!” Richie mocked. “I’m wondering how you’re dating a goddess like Beverly.”

“I wonder it too…” Ben’s tone, however, wasn’t that mocking. Actually, he sounded pretty sad, with the voice low and shrugged shoulders.

“Buddy, you know I was just kidding, right?” Richie checked with a worried look.

“I know... But you weren’t so wrong.” The boy paused and took a deep breath. “I mean, look at Beverly, she’s beautiful, the most beautiful creature I’ve seen. When she smiles, the world becomes a better place.” Ben was smiling but he had no joy on his face. “She’s just so good and I am just…” He gestured to himself. “This.”

Richie examined his friend for a moment. Had Ben Hascom fucking lost his mind? How could he not find himself interesting? He was simply one of the most amazing people in that shitty town and yet he kept walking with a sucker who in twenty years probably won't be able to declare his own income taxes for not knowing basic math.

“NO!” Richie retorted, speaking a little too loud, making Ben jump in his chair. “Hascom, listen here, but pay attention cause I’m gonna be the most serious I ever was in my whole life, you’re cool as fuck.”

“I’m not cool…”

“Yes, you are.” Now Ben’s face was right between Richie’s hands, in a way that he had to look the eyes behind the thick lens glasses. “Haystack, you’re a super duper booksmart and the best runner at the track and field team, so you’re kind of two of The Breakfast Club characters at the same time.”

“The athlete and the brain?” Ben asked, still with Richie holding his face.

“Well Haystack, I guess we both agree you wouldn’t be the criminal nor the princess.”

“Yes, even because this reference I understand.”

Richie let go Ben’s face. “What I mean is it doesn’t matter if you understand my weird-ass movies references or not, you’re the smartest guy I know and the only one of the track team that’s tolerable.”

“Alright.” Ben smiled.

“But seriously my young boy,” Richie started, making his Dr. Eugene voice. “There are uncountable studies saying that soulmates have shared brain cells and consequently, shared thoughts.”

“Oh really?” Ben raised an eyebrow, holding a chuckle.

“For sure, my little gentleman, and many of Miss Beverly Marsh’s thoughts are that you are the most loved boyfriend in all of Maine.”

“God, you’re such a pain in the ass.” The boy laughed as his face blushed a deep red.

Richie stopped a little and looked at his friend. Even before Ben even talked to anyone in the group, Richie already knew he had a crush on Beverly. It was not his fault, the way he looked at her was simply in love, even though he was only a 13-year-old boy and did not understand the dimension of what he felt himself. Needless to say, when they started hanging out more often and eventually dating, that feeling just grew.

“You know, Benny,” Now Richie was doing his normal-Richie-voice again. “Sometimes I find myself thinking I would like to have what you and Bev have.”

Ben looked at him a little cynical. “Rich, I know there are uncountable advantages in loving someone and dating and stuff but the major point is having someone in mind and…”

“I've had the biggest crush on Eddie Kaspbrak since sophomore year.”

Ben blinked once, twice and began: “Rich, what…”

“I’ve probably been crushing him before then, but it was only in the sophomore year that I understood that my way of liking him was a little different than liking the rest of you guys and had my whole gay awakening, I MEAN my bi awakening, we all already talked about it,” He stopped a little to take a breath. “So yeah, I have ‘someone in mind.’”

After staying some moments processing the information, Ben cleared his throat and said: 

“Wow.” With a unsurprised tone.

“That’s all you gonna say?” Richie said, squinting his eyes.

Ben let out a little laugh. “You know, Richie, I kind of already knew.”

“WHAT?” He exasperated. “Who the fuck told you?”

“Uh, my brain cells?”

Richie stared at the other, without understanding a thing.

After realizing an explanation would be really needed, Ben started. “Look, you’re just too obvious, I already had my suspicions but after I started taking social studies classes with you I saw how absurdly obvious it is.”

Confounded, Richie raised an eyebrow and crossed arms. “Okay, but I still didn’t get it how the hell did you cracked the code of me wanting to kiss Eds.”

“Oh, it’s simple.” Ben smiled light hearted. “Your modus operandi and mine are fucking identical.”

Richie's eyes widened in surprise and he himself couldn't tell if the surprise was over the information or hearing Ben cursing.

“Actually, not literally identical, I didn’t the whole pinning part.” The boy added quickly.

Richie sighed. “Anyway, I don’t even know if Eddie likes boys.”

“So you don’t know if he’s straight either.” Ben pointed out. “You say the glass is half empty, I say it’s half full.”

“I don’t think that’s it work…”

“Besides that,” Now Ben was trying to imitate Richie’s Dr Eugene voice. “There’s a very solid study saying that when you have a copy of your glasses at your love interest house, the chances of you two getting married double.”

Richie laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Fuck off, Benny.”

“Just call me Doc, don’t call me Benny.”

“Okay Doc, now hand me another math exercise so I can get distracted of your lunatic talk.”

“But I do have a point.” He stated.

“Yeah, sure you have.”

In fact, Ben had a point.


End file.
